It seemed the meeting was over. Its end seemed both sudden and strangely interminable to her. As people began to stand and move away, up the aisles or towards doors she hadn’t noticed for the trees, Stella sat for a second in her seat and let the feel of the motion wash over her like the tide. She was adrift. This was a new world she’d woken up into and one she needed to acclimate herself to and fast. 

She felt the deep sadness that had taken her after she’d witnessed her parent’s deaths begin to bubble and boil inside her. The inky morass felt like a hungry thing to her. It seemed as it if wanted to consume all her light. She had spent years not speaking the last time it had taken her, years buried in its black pall. She didn’t want to do that again, not for anything. 

She straightened in her seat, running a hand through her tousled curls in an effort to tame them but it only added to their charming chaos. She took the next step quickly before she could think about it and stood, turning to see who was still about, looking for one figure in particular. 

He was handsome, she’d give him that. With a light to his eyes that made her heart flutter and a smile want to prick at the corners of her mouth. She had a thing for bad boys and he looked like the baddest of all. The sort to leave a woman like her broken hearted. She could live with that, she had before. She spotted him, up at the edges of the auditorium and she realized he was about to leave it. She’d lose her chance if she didn’t hurry. 

She slipped out of her row of chairs and on swift feet more used to eating up rough woodland paths she charged up the aisle before she lost her nerve and she lost the chance to meet the gentleman in question. Her heart was pounding with nerves but also with the first spark of interest and excitement she’d felt since getting her charges on board and sliding into her stasis bed. She welcomed the excitement. When she reached the top she forced herself to call out, 

“Excuse me!” She said to the blue-eyed med tech with the charming widow’s peak. She knew her cheeks were flushed but she didn’t let herself care. 

She stopped just before him and cocked her head to the side, her curls bouncing in response to the motion. 

“Mr. Eadoré was it? I’m Doctor Albright, Stella. I’m wondering if you would be so kind as to introduce me to this handsome fellow?” She gestured towards the Bengal cat that had been sitting on the man’s shoulders in the auditorium, her eyes lit and her nervous smile blooming.